Round socket applicator

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for crimping a plurality of electrical connectors simultaneously to the ends of juxtaposed wires, the apparatus comprising crimping anvils towards which the strip of connectors is arranged to be fed along a feed path, juxtaposed crimping dies for cooperation with the anvils to crimp the connectors to the wires, a severing device arranged to sever a plurality of the connectors simultaneously from the strip of connectors at a position upstream of the anvils, and feed means arranged to advance the severed connectors simultaneously towards the anvils to position each severed connector on one of the anvils.

[451 July 4,1972

United States Patent van de Kerkhoi [541 ROUND SOCKET APPLICATOR [72] Inventor:

DD 33 U0 22 99 22 3,239,924 3/1966 Wagner..............,.............,.. 3,481,018 12/1969 van de Kerkhof... 2,727,236 12/1955 Klumppetal.......................

Lodevicus Lambertus Johannes van de Kerkhof, Hertogenbosch, Netherlands bosch, Netherlands Primary Examiner-Charles W. Lanham Assistant Examiner-Michael J. Keenan [73] Assignee: AMP Incorporated, Harrisburg, Pa.

[22] Filed: Dec. 17, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 99,085

Att0rney-William J. Keating, Ronald D. Grefe, Gerald K.

ABSTRACT [30] Foreign Application Priority Data a plurality of electrical connectors ds of juxtaposed wires, the apparatus hich the strip of connecd along a feed path, juxtaposed crimpthe anvils to crimp the connecosition upstream of the anvils, and feed means ard to advance the severed connectors simultaneously e C H mm 0 m m w .l 0 e 0 m r M m O IBnV c 0 e w m r. n e a v w n s S l w h a E c a .l a w aw e m m m m b M 1 U .m & m mn u o m a iv fl p t mmm mmm m .l e S mm mP m H m 08 v yi n o s c a f C n wgnrwo m mm m uw m m m a v t a nfwflmm ae e mS s n vs pm fgm rmw fl A MCm.mo-.W trmO 9 0 0 MD3 ll 3/ 0 0 0 26 0 W 7 1 e 22M3 5 33% m 0 3/ u mww m 2 2 H 7 i S n m m m m w mu4 m M A S MWM .l P m "2 C S a I S E .l. n" e r n u m T C a u e A m n u r. T e m m h S N n H e D mmm R E 7 m U m mmm W d m 5mm UIIF 1:11. .1 2 8 6 555 5 1:11 .I.

Andren .............29/33 M Martines M 8 Claims, 16 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUL 4 I972 SHEET 10F 7 PATENTEDJUL '4 I972 3. 673 847 SHEET u or 7 PATENTEUJUL'4 1912 sum 5 or 7 ROUND SOCKET APPLICATOR We have described and claimed in the specification of our British Pat. No. 1,150,390 (4120Y), apparatus for crimping a plurality of electrical connectors simultaneously to the ends of juxtaposed wires, the connectors having formed part of a strip of electrical connectors arranged in side-by-side strip form, the apparatus comprising juxtaposed crimping anvils towards which the strip of connectors is arranged to be fed along a feed path, juxtaposed crimping dies for co-operation with the anvils to crimp the connectors to the wires, a severing device arranged to sever a plurality of the connectors simultaneously from the strip of connectors at a position upstream of the anvils, and feed means arranged to advance the severed connectors simultaneously towards the anvils to position each severed connector on one of the anvils.

In the apparatus described in the above patent specification, the severed connectors, each of which comprises a crimping ferrule extending axially from a connecting portion in the form of a rectangular section receptacle for a flat electrical tab, are pushed towards the anvils by a feed finger of the apparatus, with the receptacles of the connectors in contiguous relationship, and in a direction at right angles to the longitudinal axes of the connectors. The spacing between the crimping ferrules of the connectors and thus the spacing between the anvils is therefore determined by the lateral dimensions of the receptacles of the severed connectors.

The apparatus can thus only be used where the lateral dimensions of the connecting portions of the connectors are such as to allow the anvils to be spaced sufficiently to permit the severed connectors to be crimped simultaneously by cooperation between the juxtaposed anvils and crimping dies. Since in accordance with the normal practice where strip form connectors are to be crimped to wires, the dies have crimping recesses each of which receives one of the anvils during a crimping operation, the spacing between the anvils must be sufficient to allow the reception of each anvil in the crimping recess of the corresponding die.

According to the present invention, the feed means of apparatus as defined in the first paragraph of this specification comprises two pairs of connector gripping jaws movable together between a first position in which each pair of jaws grips one of the connectors at the position at which the connector was severed from the strip of connectors by the severing device and a second position in which a crimping ferrule of each of the severed connectors gripped by the jaws is disposed on one of the anvils, the pairs of jaws being displaced with respect to one another when moved from their first to their second positions, to accommodate the difference between the distance by which the connectors are spaced from one another longitudinally of the strip of connectors and the distance between the juxtaposed anvils.

The apparatus according to the invention can therefore be arranged for use with connectors having connecting portions of any desired dimensions and being spaced from one another when in strip form by any desired distance.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference will now be made by way of example to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an enlarged plan view of part of a strip of electrical connectors for crimping to insulated electrical wires;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side elevational view of one of the connectors of FIG. 1 when crimped to an insulated electrical wire;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of apparatus for crimping pairs of the connectors of FIG. 1 to pairs of insulated electrical wires, the apparatus comprising a press ram assembly and a connector feed and positioning assembly, the latter being shown in phantom forrn;

FIG. 4 is a side view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the apparatus with the ram assembly removed;

FIG. 6 is a view taken on the lines VIVI of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a view taken on the lines VII-VII of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a front elevational view of the connector positioning assembly;

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the assembly as shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a similar view to FIG. 8 but with a cover plate of the assembly removed;

FIG. 11 is a top plan view of the assembly as shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a view taken on the lines XII-XII of FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of a detail of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a side elevational view of a detail of the connector feed and positioning assembly;

FIG. 15 is a side elevational view of the assembly as shown in FIG. 8; and

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating the operation of part of the apparatus.

As shown in FIG.- I, a strip 2 of electrical connectors comprises electrical connectors 4 joined to a metal carrier strip 6 in side-by-side parallel relationship by metal slugs 8, the carrier strip 6 having a circular hole 10 adjacent each slug 8. Each connector 4 comprises a connecting portion formed by a circular-section receptacle 12 with a bell mouth 24, for mating with an electrical plug (not shown), and a two-part crimping ferrule 14 which is substantially U-shaped as seen in cross-section. Triangular lances 16 for piercing the insulation of, so as to engage the electrically conductive core 18 (FIG. 2) of, an insulated electrical wire 20, and a ring of shorter insulation gripping lances 22, have been stamped out from the base of the ferrule 14 by perforating the base. In this example, the connectors 4 have a centerto-center spacing of 0.560 inches 13.224 mm) longitudinally of the carrier strip 6.

The apparatus, which is described below, is for severing pairs of the connectors 4 from the carrier strip 6 and for crimping the severed connectors of each pair to free ends 20a and 20b (FIG. 16) of two plastics insulated wires, the insulating sheaths of which are formed integrally with one another. Such wires are usually known as twin wires. The center-tocenter spacing between the crimped connectors is required in this example to be 0.275 inches (6.985 mm).

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 7, the apparatus comprises a base plate 35 to which is secured an anvil assembly 26 carrying juxtaposed crimping anvils 28 and 30 having a center-to-center spacing of 0.275 inches (6.985 mm) and being separated by a spacer plate 32 (FIG. 5). In front of and mid-way between the anvils 30 and 32 is a triangular cross-section upwardly (as seen in FIG. 3) tapering wire separator blade 34.

A press ram assembly 35 comprising a press ram 36 is arranged to be driven in vertical reciprocating motion by a continuously running electric motor (not shown). The assembly 35 is drivable through a single cycle of operation, i.e., through a downward (as seen in FIGS. 3 and 4) working stroke and an upward (as seen in FIGS. 3 and 4) return stroke by depressing a pedal switch (not shown) to engage a one-shot clutch (not shown) operatively to connect the assembly 35 to the motor. Each of crimping dies 38 and 40 on the ram 36, has two crimping recesses 42 and 44 for receiving the anvils 28 and 30 respectively. The assembly 35 also comprises earns 46 and 48, the latter being secured to the assembly 35 for vertical adjustment along a slide plate 54 by virtue of bolts 50 engaging in slots 52 in the cam 48. The cams 46 and 48 have cam surfaces 47 and 49 respectively. A bracket 56 secured to the opposite side of the assembly 35 to the cams 46 and 48 carries a shear blade depressor bolt 58. A valve holder 60 secured to a press frame (not shown) by fasteners 62 carries a pair of exhaust valves 64 and 66 having plungers 67 and 68 respectively for engagement by the cam surfaces 49 and 47 respectively, as explained in detail below. 10

A connector strip feed assembly 70, also secured to the plate 24 comprises a connector strip feed plate 72 upon which are mounted connector strip guide plates 74 and 76 to define a connector strip feed path 78 for receiving the connector strip 2. A stock drag plate 80 mounted on the plate 76 and being loaded by a spring 71 is arranged resiliently to engage the carrier strip 6 to secure the strip 2 in the guide channel 78. The plate 80 has a handle 82 which is displaceable manually to raise the plate 80 from its strip gripping position.

A feed arm 84 (FIG. 6) pivotally mounted on a pin 94, in a recess 86 in the plate 72 carried a charnfered feed finger 88 and is urged by a spring 90 towards an angular position in which the feed finger 88 projects through a slot 92 in the upper (as seen in FIG. 6) wall of the recess 86. The pin 94 is mounted in a feed slide 98 slidable longitudinally of the plate 72 to an extent limited in the rightward (as seen in FIG. 6)direction by an adjustable stop 102. A spring 104 urges the slide 98 rightwardly (as seen in FIG. 6). The arm 84 has a handle 106 which is movable manually to pivot the arm 84 against the action of the spring 90. The slide 98 has a laterally extending lug 108 which is engageably by a bolt 109 on a push-pull rod 110 to drive the slide 98 leftwardly (as seen in FIG. 6), to advance the strip 2 towards the anvils 28 and 30 as explained below.

A connector strip shearing assembly 112 secured to the plate 24 is disposed between the assemblies 26 and 70. The as sembly 1 12 comprises a frame 1 14 in which is mounted a fixed shear plate 116 (FIG. 7), having a shearing edge 118 for cooperation with a shearing edge 120 of a movable shear plate 122 which is depressible by the depressor bolt 58 as described below, against the action of a return spring 124. Immediately adjacent the fixed shear plate 1 16 is a pair of connector clamps 126 urged upwardly (as seen in FIG. 7) by compression spring 128. Above, as seen in FIG. 7, the clamps 126, is a connector strip guide 130 secured to the frame 114 by fasteners 132 as best seen in FIG. 5.

A connector feed and positioning assembly 134 disposed rearwardly of the assembly 112 and secured to the plate 24 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 15. An oblong frame 136 has a front cover plate 138 (which has been removed in FIGS. to 13) and a back plate 140, the sides of the frame being constituted by slide guides 142 and 144 and the ends of the frame by slide stops 146 and 148. First and second connector positioning slides I50 and 152 are mounted to slide horizontally between the guides 142 and 144 and carry connector gripping devices 154 and 156 respectively, each comprising an upper (as seen in FIGS. 10 and 12) jaw 158 and a lower (as seen in FIGS. 10 and 12) jaw 160. The jaws 158 and 160 project through an oblong window 161 (FIG. 8) in the plate 138. The jaws 158 and 160 of each device 154 and 156 are biased towards one another by springs 162 and 164, the spring 164 being stronger than the spring 162 so that the circular cross-section cavities defined by gripping surfaces 166 of the jaws are always disposed at the same height with respect to the anvils 28 and 30. Each slide 150 and 152 is frictionally engaged by a drag ball 168 (only one of which is shown) loaded by a spring 169, as best seen in FIG. 13, the loading of the ball 168 being adjustable by means of a nut 170.

The rod 1 10 extends between cam members 172 of the jaws 158 and 160, as best seen in FIG. 14, the cam members 172 being biased towards the rod 110 by the springs 162 and 164. The cam members 172 can engage in notches 174 towards the left-hand (as seen in FIG. 14) end of the rod 110, to cause the jaws 158 and 160 to assume their closed positions under the actions of the springs 162 and 164. The rod 110 has a pair of axially spaced keys 176 and 178 engaging in openings 180 and 182 in the slides 150 and 152 respectively. The distance (as seen in FIG. 10) between the key 178 and the right-hand (as seen in FIG. 10) edge 183 of the aperture 182 exceeds by the difference between the center-to-center spacing of the anvils 28 and 30 and the center-to-center spacing of the connectors 4 along the carrier strip 6, the distance between the key 176 and the right-hand (as seen in FIG. 10) edge 181 of the aperture180. 1

The rod 1 10 is connected by a bracket 184 to the piston rod 186 of a double-acting pneumatic piston-and-cylinder unit 188, one end of the cylinder of which communicates with a conduit 190, the other end of the cylinder communicating with a conduit 192. The unit 188 is mounted on the plate 140, as best seen in FIG. 9.

A five-way spool valve (not shown) connected to a continuous supply of compressed air is also connected to the valves 64 and 66 and the conduits 190 and 192. When the plunger 68 of the valve 66 is depressed, the plunger 67 of the valve 64 being undepressed, compressed air is applied to one side of the piston (not shown) of the unit 188, through the conduit 192, the conduit 190 being open to exhaust, so that the piston rod 186 is in its extended position. Conversely, when the plunger 67 is depressed, the plunger 68 being undepressed, the conduit 192 is opened to exhaust, and the conduit 190 to the compressed air supply, so that compressed air is supplied to the other side of the piston so that the piston rod 186 is driven to its retracted position.

To prepare the apparatus for operation, the handle 82 is moved to the broken line position in FIG. 5 to raise the stock drag plate 80. The free end of the strip 2 of connectors which extends from a rotably mounted storage reel (not shown) is manually inserted into the channel 78 so that the carrier strip 6 extends over the slot 92 in the plate 72 as indicated diagrammatically in broken lines in FIG. 5, the feed finger 88 engaging in the hole 10 of the carrier strip 6 immediately above the feed finger 88. The strip 2 is so positioned that the connectors 4 in the assembly 70 lie with their receptacles 12 beneath the plate 74, each of the two leading connectors of the strip being positioned (as indicated in broken lines in FIG. 7) in the assembly 112 with its crimping ferrule 14 gripped between one of the clamps 126 and the strip guide 130. Also as shown in FIG. 7, the carrier strip 6 extends beneath the movable shear plate 122 with the slugs 8 joining the two leading connectors 4 to the carrier strip 6 disposed between the edge 120 of the movable plate 122 and the edge 118 of the fixed shear plate 116. When the strip 2 has been so positioned, the handle 82 is returned to its full-line position (FIG. 5) so that .the drag plate engages the carrier strip 6 to hold the strip 2 resiliently in position in the channel 78.

At the beginning of a cycle of operation of the apparatus, the ram assembly 35 is in its top dead center position (FIGS. 3 and 4), the cam surface 47 of the cam 46 depressing the plunger 68, the plunger 67 being undepressed, so that the piston rod 186 is in its extended position so that the rod 1 10 is also in its extended position.

The key 176 of the rod retains the slide in its fully leftward (as seen in FIG. 10 position with the slide 150 engaging the slide 152 and holding it against an adjustable stop bolt 149 of the slide stop 148. The carnming members 172 of the gripping devices 146 and 148 are engaged in the notches 174 of the rod 110 so that the jaws 158 and of each of the devices 146 and 148 are closed under the action of the springs 162 and 164.

The receptacles 12 of two of the connectors 4 which have been severed from the carrier strip 6 during a previous cycle of operation of the apparatus, as will be described below, have been positioned between and gripped by the surfaces 166 of the jaws of the devices 154 and 156 also during the previous cycle, as will be described below. The crimping ferrule 14 of the connector gripped by the jaws of the device 156 lies on the anvil 30, the crimping ferrule 14 of the connector 4 gripped by the jaws of device 154 lying on the anvil 28.

The ends 20a and 20b of the pair of insulated wires are now separated with the aid of the wire separating blade 34 (as in dicated in FIG. 16) so that the end 20a dies over the crimping ferrule 14 of the connector on the anvil 28, the end 20b lying over the crimping ferrule 14 of the connector on the anvil 30.

The pedal switch is actuated to engage the clutch so that the motor drives the ram assembly 35 through a working and a return stroke. As the ram assembly 35 descends, the plunger 68 rides off the cam surface 47 so that the plunger 68 is released, the plunger 67 being depressed by the cam surface 49 when the ram assembly reaches the end of its working stroke. The ferrules 14 on the anvils 28 and 30 are crimped to the wire ends 20a and 20b by co-operation between the surfaces of the crimping recesses 42 and 44 and the anvils 28 and 30 which are received in the recesses 42 and 44. Since the plunger 68 has been released and the plunger 67 depressed, the unit 188 is caused to retract its piston rod 186 and thus the rod 110 so that the camming members 172 are forced radially outwardly of the rod 110, by virtue of the movement of the notches 174 rightwardly (as seen in FIG. 14), to the broken line positions of the members 172, shown in FIG. 14, so that the jaws 158 and 160 of the devices 154 and 156 are opened. The slides 150 and 152 remain stationary at this stage by virtue of the frictional engagement of the balls 168 with the slides. As the rod 110 continues its retraction movement, the key 176 engages the edge 181 of the aperture 180 of the slide 150 so as to drive the slide 150 rightwardly (as seen in FIG. along the guides 142 and 144 so that the slide 150 is displaced from the slide 152 by a distance equal to the difference between the center-to-center spacing of the anvils 28 and 30 and that of the connectors 4 along the carrier strip 6 and the key 178 strikes the edge 183 of the aperture 182 of the slide 152 so that the slides move together rightwardly (as seen in FIG. 10) along the guides 142 and 144 until the slide 150 strikes the stop 146. The end position of the slide 152 in the retracted position of the rod 1 10 can be adjusted by means of an adjustment plate 199 on the plate 140 cooperating with a stop 200 on the slide 152, projecting through a slot 201 in the plate 140 (FIG. 8). Each pair of jaws 158 and 160, which is now in its open position is at this stage in alignment with one of the two connectors gripped between the clamps 126 and the guide 130 so that the receptacle 12 of each of these two connectors lies between one of the pair of jaws 158 and 160.

Towards the end of the working stroke of the ram assembly 35, the shear plate depressor bolt 58 strikes the movable shear plate 122. The plate 122 is accordingly depressed so that the slugs 8 joining the two connectors gripped between the clamps 116 and the guide 130 are sheared through between the edge 120 ofthe plate 122 and the edge 118 ofthe plate 116.

As the assembly carries out its return stroke, the plunger 67 is released and the plunger 68 is depressed again so that the piston rod 186 drives the rod 110 through its extension stroke. Towards the beginning of the extension stroke of the rod 110, the cams 172 again enter the notches 174 so that the jaws 158 and 160 of the devices 154 and 156 close about the receptacles 12 of the two connectors which are gripped between the clamps 126 and the guide 130. The key 176 now strikes the edge 197 of the aperture 180 opposite to the edge 181 so that both the slides 150 and 152 are returned along the guides 142 and 144 to their initial position, in which the two connectors gripped by the jaws 158 and 160 are positioned with their crimping ferrules 14 on the anvils 28 and 30.

During the retraction stroke of the piston rod 186, the feed slide 98 is driven rightwardly (as seen in FIG. 6) by the spring 104, the feed finger 88 being cammed, by virtue of its chamfer, out of the hole 10 in the strip 6 in which it is located. When the slide 98 engages the stop 102 at the right-hand (as seen in FIG. 6) end of the recess 86, the feed finger 88 enters another hole 10 in the strip 6 under the action of the spring 90. During the extension stroke of the piston rod 186, the bolt 109 on the rod 110 drives the feed arm 84, by way of the lug 108, leftwardly (as seen in FIG. 6) until the bolt 109 strikes the stop 146, to advance two further connectors 4 between the clamps 126 and the guide 130 for a fresh cycle of operation of the apparatus.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for crimping a plurality of electrical connectors simultaneously to the ends of juxtaposed wires, the connectors having formed part of a strip of electrical connectors arranged in side-by-side strip form, the apparatus comprising juxtaposed crimping anvils towards which the strip of connectors is arranged to be fed along a feed path, juxtaposed crimping dies for co-operation with the anvils to crimp the connectors to the wires, a severing device arranged to sever a plurality of the connectors simultaneously from the strip of connectors at a position upstream of the anvils, and feed means arranged to advance the severed connectors simultaneously towards the anvils to position each severed connector on one of the anvils, wherein the feed means comprises two pairs of connector gripping jaws movable together between a first position in which each pair of jaws grips one of the connectors at the position at which the connector was severed from the strip of connectors by the severing device and a second position in which a crimping ferrule of each of the severed connectors gripped by the jaws is disposed on one of the anvils, the pairs of jaws being displaced with respect to one another when moved from their first to their second positions, to accommodate the difference between the distance by which the connectors are spaced from one another longitudinally of the strip of connectors and the distance between the juxtaposed anvils.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which slides upon each of which one of the pairs of jaws is mounted, are displaced to move the pairs of jaws between their first and second positions by a reciprocating member which in one direction of movement entrains the slides so that the slides are moved in contiguous relationship and in its opposite direction of movement entrains the slides in such a way that the slides are moved in spaced relationship with respect to one another.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2, in which the reciprocating member is a rod which is driven in reciprocating motion along a path parallel to the feed path of the strip of connectors, the rod having a first projection which is movable between two abutment surfaces of one of the slides and a second projection which is engageable with an abutment surface of another of the slides, the distance between the two abutment surfaces of the one slide and the distance between the projection of the other slide and the abutment surface of the other slide differing, in one end position of the rod by the difference between the distance by which the connectors are spaced from one another longitudinally of the strip of connectors and the distance between the juxtaposed anvils.

4. Apparatus according to claim 2, in which the reciprocating member co-operates with the pairs of jaws so as to cause the jaws of each pair to be opened to receive the severed connectors and to be subsequently closed to grip the severed connectors in the first position of the jaws, the reciprocating member also co-operating with the pairs of jaws so as to cause the jaws of each pair of jaws to be opened, when in their second position and after the connectors have been crimped to the wires.

5. Apparatus according to claims 2, in which the reciprocating member has notches for receiving cam members on the jaws to close the jaws, the initial movement of the reciprocating member to displace the jaws from their second to their first position causing the cam members to be cammed out of the notches of the operating member to open the jaws and the initial movement of the reciprocating member to move the jaws from their first to their second position causing the cam members to re-engage in the notches of the reciprocating member to close the jaws.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5, in which the slides are slidable along a slideway provided by two opposite sides of a rectangular frame, the other two sides of the frame comprising end abutments for the slides the slides being movable by the reciprocating member against the action of a spring-loaded member carried by at least one of the two opposite sides of the frame.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6, in which the connectors are driven by a feed finger so as to engage between pairs of clamps which resiliently grip the crimping ferrules of the connectors whilst the connectors are being severed from the strip of connectors by the severing device, the jaws acting upon connecting portions of the connectors and serving to drag the connectors from the clamping devices as the jaws are moved from their first to their second position.

8. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which the reciprocating member is driven by a piston and cylinder unit having first and second exhaust valves mounted beside the path of movement of a reciprocable press ram carrying a first cam for operating the second exhaust valve and a second cam for operating the first exhaust valve, the operation of the second exhaust valve causing the reciprocating member to drive the jaws from their first to their second positions and the operation of the first exhaust valve causing the reciprocating member to drive the jaws from their second to their first position, the first cam causing the second exhaust valve to be operated in the top dead center position of the ram and the second cam causing the first exhaust valve to be operated near the bottom dead center position of the ram 

1. Apparatus for crimping a plurality of electrical connectors simultaneously to the ends of juxtaposed wires, the connectors having formed part of a strip of electrical connectors arranged in side-by-side strip form, the apparatus comprising juxtaposed crimping anvils towards which the strip of connectors is arranged to be fed along a feed path, juxtaposed crimping dies for cooperation with the anvils to crimp the connectors to the wires, a severing device arranged to sever a plurality of the connectors simultaneously from the strip of connectors at a position upstream of the anvils, and feed means arranged to advance the severed connectors simultaneously towards the anvils to position each severed connector on one of the anvils, wherein the feed means comprises two pairs of connector gripping jaws movable together between a first position in which each pair of jaws grips one of the connectors at the position at which the connector was severed from the strip of connectors by the severing device and a second position in which a crimping ferrule of each of the severed connectors gripped by the jaws is disposed on one of the anvils, the pairs of jaws being displaced with respect to one another when moved from their first to their second positions, to accommodate the difference between the distance by which the connectors are spaced from one another longitudinally of the strip of connectors and the distance between the juxtaposed anvils.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which slides upon each of which one of the pairs of jaws is mounted, are displaced to move the pairs of jaws between their first and second positions by a reciprocating member which in one direction of movement entrains the slides so that the slides are moved in contiguous relationship and in its opposite direction of movement entrains the slides in such a way that the slides are moved in spaced relationship with respect to one another.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 2, in which the reciprocating member is a rod which is driven in Reciprocating motion along a path parallel to the feed path of the strip of connectors, the rod having a first projection which is movable between two abutment surfaces of one of the slides and a second projection which is engageable with an abutment surface of another of the slides, the distance between the two abutment surfaces of the one slide and the distance between the projection of the other slide and the abutment surface of the other slide differing, in one end position of the rod by the difference between the distance by which the connectors are spaced from one another longitudinally of the strip of connectors and the distance between the juxtaposed anvils.
 4. Apparatus according to claim 2, in which the reciprocating member co-operates with the pairs of jaws so as to cause the jaws of each pair to be opened to receive the severed connectors and to be subsequently closed to grip the severed connectors in the first position of the jaws, the reciprocating member also co-operating with the pairs of jaws so as to cause the jaws of each pair of jaws to be opened, when in their second position and after the connectors have been crimped to the wires.
 5. Apparatus according to claims 2, in which the reciprocating member has notches for receiving cam members on the jaws to close the jaws, the initial movement of the reciprocating member to displace the jaws from their second to their first position causing the cam members to be cammed out of the notches of the operating member to open the jaws and the initial movement of the reciprocating member to move the jaws from their first to their second position causing the cam members to re-engage in the notches of the reciprocating member to close the jaws.
 6. Apparatus according to claim 5, in which the slides are slidable along a slideway provided by two opposite sides of a rectangular frame, the other two sides of the frame comprising end abutments for the slides the slides being movable by the reciprocating member against the action of a spring-loaded member carried by at least one of the two opposite sides of the frame.
 7. Apparatus according to claim 6, in which the connectors are driven by a feed finger so as to engage between pairs of clamps which resiliently grip the crimping ferrules of the connectors whilst the connectors are being severed from the strip of connectors by the severing device, the jaws acting upon connecting portions of the connectors and serving to drag the connectors from the clamping devices as the jaws are moved from their first to their second position.
 8. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which the reciprocating member is driven by a piston and cylinder unit having first and second exhaust valves mounted beside the path of movement of a reciprocable press ram carrying a first cam for operating the second exhaust valve and a second cam for operating the first exhaust valve, the operation of the second exhaust valve causing the reciprocating member to drive the jaws from their first to their second positions and the operation of the first exhaust valve causing the reciprocating member to drive the jaws from their second to their first position, the first cam causing the second exhaust valve to be operated in the top dead center position of the ram and the second cam causing the first exhaust valve to be operated near the bottom dead center position of the ram. 